Got a question for the Mythbusters?

Are you a fan of the Mythbusters? Think your students might be? Well, they’re going to be special guests of Discovery Education at NSTA tomorrow and Lance is going to be hosting a Q&A with them. While he has plenty of his own questions to ask them, we thought we’d open it up to you and your students!

Leave a comment with a question that you or your students would like to ask the Mythbusters and Lance will ask them it during the session tomorrow. Rumor has it that he’ll be trying to get a few autographs to give away as well, so there MAY be prizes involved here!

Hello Patti
i’m not speaking for jamie or adam here,
but, i do know for a fact that Jamie stated on one episode that it was one of the most dangerous

the episode was the James Bond Golfinger one
whereby Jamie got COMPLETELY Covered in Gold Paint, the Myth was would he die, Because the Lady that was in the Orginal Goldfinger actually died, Paramedics were onsite, (incidentally, i’m also a paramedic) this is dangerous, beause your literally blocking all the pores of your skin, which means, first, Your skin Can’t respirate/Breath, Secondly, you’ll get hot, these things can lead to fainting, Shock Even death if you don’t get the paint off quick enough. that was a dangerous episode

Another one was where Grant Freaked out, in a big way, His Head was inserted into a cube Perspex transparent container, containing funnel web spiders

thsi is more of an issue where grant was afraid of spiders, no so much that it was dangerous
it was to a point, but, he made it worse.

but the Gold Paint thing, That was very dangerous Possibly the Most dangerous if not close to it

My question is about terminal velocity. It doesn’t make sense to me because if the force of gravity is pulling you down and is matched by the force of air and is pushing you up, wouldn’t you just float there?

@Coby,
of course it can
Sound is Literally Pressure waves
if those pressure waves have a pressure that is greater then the pressure needed to overcome the surface tension of the bubble, the bubble will pop,

now, in reality if you went to the bargain shop and got one of those bubble making thingies

you made a bubble and you yelled at it
the bubble, instead of bursting from the Pressure waves of your voice

WOULD MOVE AWAY FROM YOU
this again, is the pressure pushing the bubble

Theoretically.. if you could stop the bubble moving away, that pressure would cause teh bublble to compress and pop

the other way is , if the pressure was so great and quick that the bubble wouldn’t have time to move

i would suggest focus on experiements with LOW FREQUENCY and High Amplitude

go to the show where they put out a candle with their voice, same principle

I was wondering if it was possible to have mirrors all lined up and see if u could see each other from the first mirror to the last mirror i would be interesting to know if you could see a man from the other side of the world just from lining up heaps and heaps of mirrors in a row but mabye on mythbusters u could just test lining up mirrors 1 km long and see if u could see each other from 1st mirror 2 last mirror p.s i am 13 and i have allways wanted 2 kno how far u could see each other just from mirrors and none of my science teachers know thanks. (:

I recently viewed the episode with captain kirks bamboo cannon. I do not remember mention of bamboos strength properties or variations in blackpowder manufacture. Bamboo does not attain its maximum strength. ( through silica ) until near its third year. Younger cane may burst with even a small charge. When mature its tensile strength exceeds that of modern steel. The force of simply made powder varies based on size of the grains ( larger and more asymetrical = more control slower reaction finer = faster burn less control. Change those factors and the mix of the three main components to less than 1 third saltpeter and I am positive the result would be better if not very good.

I was watching the “Lightning Strikes/Tongue Piercing” episode where they also cover the “breathalyser test” to see if it is beatable. This is probably a dumb question because Im an Art Major not a Science major. But, would a blood thinner work to lower the blood alcohal level since i think i heard them say “everything is proportional”. So wouldn’t that mean that if you thin out your blood, then so your breathalyser results would also read lower?

I have 2 questions. The first is are the mythbusters green, if so how (I’ve noticed you do reuse machines)? The second is, I thought you can survive if you’re in the middle of a train between the rails.

hello martin here. I’m a computer engineer, telecommunications engineer.
actually it is possible, and not really that impressive.
However it takes some preperation.
if you watch the video carefully, let’s first of all give the nets a number. number 1 is the left one closest to us watching the vid. then count them clockwise and the right one being number 4.
You’ll notice that the guy batting only needs to focus on the ball coming from number 3.
the other nets are strategically setup so that the nets always deflect the ball into another net which deflects it to another and then into net 3 and back to the batter.

of course this only works if the batter hits the ball coming from net 3 precisely into the first net
(which obviously he has had practice at doing)

But on the condition that he can hit that ball coming at him at the same target (relatively) every time, the balls will deflect in that impressive fashion that you see on the video.

it’s sort of like juggling but horizontal instead of vertical

when a juggler juggles 3 or 4 balls he only needs to focus on 2 balls to make the whole thing work, he will catch 1 in his left hand and throw it diagonally up to the right, and the other then in the right hand and he will throw it diagonally up to the left. that’s basically it.

so.. yes it’s possible
and to go one step further with the baseball video

let’s ask ourselves, why didn’t he make it bounce of 8 nets ass opposed to 4.

that’s simple….. it’s because this guys has calculated the bounce of each net.
and therefore knows how far to stand from the 3rd net.
now consider that when a ball bounces of a net it loses momentum based on the tension from the net, and the net absorbs part of the kinetic energy from the ball, thus slowing the ballspeed down.

so if you add enough nets. the ball ,eventually will not have enough bounce to get back to the batter,

in this example it’s calculated, and when the ball comes back at him, he hits the ball again, thus giving it more kinetic energy and (loosely stated) refreshing it’s speed back to the first net.

I had a question about your show where you try to see if we can travel in straight lines if we are deprived of our sense of sight. I wonder what would happen if you did that experiment with a blind person?

LOL, Hey mate, this is actually really simple, and i do this pretty much every day,
Your short answer is…. You need to push the drill up.

Here’s how it works

Let’s say you drilling into Pine Wood, for arguments sake
so, therefore you are using a Wood, Drill Bit that is threaded and has a sharp tip to cut into the wood

the idea of how a drill bit is engineered is that the tip will cut and chew into the timber,
in doing so it will cause debree in the hole.

this debree needs to be expelled so as to not clog up the hole, and to allow for the hole to be drilled further

the thread on the drill bit, has channels
these channels are designed to expell the debree.

now ,as you start to drill, you need to push up if the wood your drilling into is above you.

once the bit enters the wood, there is a certain amount of friction that builds up between the timber and the drill bit

and at this point, you don’t really need to push hard at all, because you let the drill bit do the work for you

That’s it’s purpose

Now, to get to your question.

so.. You want to know, if that drill bit will hang on so tightly , that it will just lift you off the ground
LOL
sounds cool,
Unfortunately not.

in theory though
and in true Mythbusters style,

Unfortuntately unlke jamie, i can’t say , if in doubt C4

but i will say this

THEORETICALLY SPEAKING

obviously the force of gravity acts upon every object, including the drill

now when you raise the drill up to the wood,
the kinetic energy in your muscles are overcoming the force of gravity

Your muscles then need to work harder by pushing the drill into the timber fibres so as to allow the drill bit to bite into them

once that happens, Friction forms
when that happens, the friction TO SOME DEGREE, Overcomes gravity, and assists your muscles , so that you don’t have to push as hard

so, in a sense, kinetic energy is lessened, by the increase in mechanical advantage.

now. friction is the question here

remember the episode where adam and jamie interleaved 2 phone books, and tried to seperate them
and it wasn’t unitl they got out the tanks, that they actually overcame the friction from the pages.
Cool episode huh
well, this is kinda like that

to answer your question

if you weigh let’s say 90Kg
and the friction between the drill bit and the timber is so great , so as to overcome a 90 Kg force + the Gravity

theoretically, you would be lifted up off the ground

in saying that, though
if the drill was that powerfull,

you would probably start spinning with the drill
and actually break your wrist
the bones known as Carpals

because it’s not as if your a rigid piece of steel

Your body has levers, and each section of those lever will absorb a certain amount of kinetic energy, if that scenario was to happen

you most likely will get lifted of the ground IN THAT GIVEN SCENARIO

but .. that scenario is highly unlikely

given a standard Household drill
let’s say a 14V 3.3Ah
or even an 18V 1.5Ah

either way, it wont happen
if it would have, it would have happen to me long ago

hope that clears up a few things , and the sceincy part of it

since we all thirst for the technical explanation of mythbusters stuff

in short, it would come down to friction and the density of the timber VS Your body and Gravity
if the latter is heavier, you will have to push
if it’s not, You’ll get lifted up

Which uses less power? Plugging in the block heater on a diesel engine while it’s still hot and leaving it on for the whole night, or using a timer on the block heater and warning up the cold engine in the morning for a few hours?

Interesting Question, However, Tori is Italian, i’m pretty sure that makes him Christian, or perhaps catholic,
Either way it’s not just Christian’s that celebrate Xmas, but your question is more geared towards Why do they do it.

I’m pretty sure it’s not about them, I’m pretty sure it’s more about US, and for the Christians who watch it, as opposed to the Mythbusters team.

after all ,we buy the DVD;s don’t we??

therefore the marketing is for us, Not for them

also, around december, People expect to see Xmas Sale this and Xmas Special that.
it’s expected

Heyy Mythbusters?
I have got a question for you. I was watching a movie and this guy got shot but his police bage saved him. Is it True that a police bage could save someones life?
From Emma
P.S Big Big Fan of your show!!! 🙂

well. you would hope not … HUH
otherwise there would be lawsuites all round

here’s your answer…

Every material, every substance, in chemistry terms
has what it called a “flash Point”

You see Certain Chemicals can ignite from simple exposure to a warm day
these are known to have a low flash point

This part usually confuses people,
People usually think if it combusts easily, it’s a high flashpoint

so let me clarify

a FLASH POINT is the point at which a substance or a material reaches a temperature

and that temperature being ,the temperature at which that substance goes from being Hot, to instantly combusting
aka, bursting into flames

it’s all about heat

Now.. keep in mind that HEAT IS ENERGY
also keep in mind
FRICTION GENERATES HEAT, WHICH IS ENERGY

now, let’s say we have a normal piece of printing paper
and let’s say that that paper will burst into flames and catch alight at precisely 80 Degrees Celsius
BUT NOT AT 79.9

that then means that the Flashpoint of that specific paper is 80 Degrees Celsius

Now, different materials have differenct flashpoints
based on the materials properties

so.. let’s say you have something higly combustible, that when exposed to a warm day

let’s say 17Degrees Celsius

lets say that substance combusts at 17 Degrees

then that substance is said to have a Low Flashpoint

and the Paper has a higher Flash Point

Now.. GETTING BACK TO YOUR QUESTION

You first need to ask yourself
is that the type of exercise bike that has a material strap around the metal wheel

and that strap is supposed to be the resistance that helps you work out

IF SO..
then here’s your answer

1. What is the Material of that strap
2. What is the Materials flash point
3. what is the tension on the material that is being exerted on the wheel
Keep in mind that if you have more tension on that strap acting upon the wheel,
YES you will have to pedal harder, but in saying that, You will generate more heat once you overcome that tension and the strap will get hotter, quicker

it’s all a question of friction

More tension = More Friction
if the wheel is smooth, there will be less friction
(and there most likely is)
if the wheel is rough there will be more friction
if the tension is increased on the strap, this will create more friction again

if you create enough friction and generate enough heat

and you manage to reach the flashpoint of that material

THEN.
if you reach the flashpoint of that material , that material will burst into flames

IT’S THAT SIMPLE

in saying that
these things are not engineered to create lawsuites
and if it was to catch fire, it would probably just burn the strap

but.. i hope this has helped you understand when and how , stuff catches on fire, and why

so.. IS IT POSSIBLE

Hell yes, Given the right conditions

and if you want to try it,
ask the manufacturer for the flashpoint of the strap,
then.. as a motivational tool for exercising
Attempt to pedal fast enough to cause the strap to catch on fire

Let me know if you actually do achieve this
i used to try to do this back in the 80’s

Heyy Mythbusters?
I have got a question for you. I was watching a movie and this guy got shot but his police bage saved him. Is it True that a police bage could save someones life?
From Emma
P.S Big Big Fan of your show 🙂

now to answer your question
IN THE MOVIES (Which are mostly B.S.)
if you have a Bible or a badge or a flask of whisky in your shirt pocket next to your heart, (in the movies) your pretty much guaranteed to survive LOL.

But seriously, and scientifically stated
first of all , being realistic, a police badge would not save SOMEONE’S life, it would only save a POLICESMAN’S life, because only a police man would ever wear one… right.

but, let’s humour your question anyway….

it all comes down to this
1. what is the density of the badge (and is it metal or plastic)
Knowing this will determine the resistance in the equation, or opposing force, if you prefer.
2. what is the calibre of the firearm that is firing the bullet (this will determine the force being applied, in your theoretical equation)
3. How far away is the shooter from the guy being shot (it’s important to understand that the bullet will lose momentum and force over distance)
4. and if you really want to be geeky about it. You can go ahead and calculate the windspeed, the wind direction and to go totally nuts with this … you can calculate the coriolis effect of the earth.
doing this will give you a more accurate result in the end,

but in short.

let’s give a very rough calculated example.
let’s say the badge is metal and of such a density that it can withstand a focused forced of no larger than 3cm in diameter and not exceeding a pressure of let’s say..1Kg

so that means if the shooter is firing a .9mm round from 50 metres away (and i’m not a gun expert OK, but i understand physics)
and lets assume that 50 metres away will mean that bullet hits his badge and thus exerting a force of 999grams
and assuming that there is no gravity, no coriolis effect, no wind resistance and not kinetic energy transferred to the guy getting shot.

he would live.

and now obviously if you added windspeed into this. and the wind was travelling in the opposite direction of the bullet, it would then slow the bullet down,… wouldn’t it.

and putting the wind aside, if the shooter at 50 metres, took a step forward so he was now 49 metres from the guy being shot, the guy would get killed, because the badge can (hypothetically) resist an impact of 1kg, which is assumed for that calibre to be at 50 metres.

understand how it all works now.

it’s all about “FORCES AND MOTION” in physics
and then you need to calculate RESISTANCE FACTORS, or OPPOSING FORCES.

But the short realistic answer is, No it’s not possible.

because if that were true, then police body armour would not be made from Kevlar, they would be made from the cheap metal that is used to make police badges.

Dear mythbusters, there is methane in your wind so if you are in a concealed room if you brake wind enough and put a lit flare inside. Will it blow up? Please test this. Wil McIntosh, 9 years old Norwich,Norfolk (big fan of the show : ) ) March 8th 2012

9/11 lie of the century.. you guys work hand in hand with the fbi .. and do thermite etc experiments. why wont u prove that gasoline cant melt steel. (especially asbestos coated buildings)and try to explain how building 7 fell over in sympathy for the other towers, when it was as such untouched. lol.. its be a nice way to prove u can answer the real questions people ask not prove magyver

do you want the show to be shut down? yeah, it’s obvious that 9/11 was planned by the government, and I don’t think anyone wants to mess with them. I think they should not touch any political issues. They tried once with the “moon landing” and looked very foolish and biased.

Ok,….. i guess since you took the time to post your question on a public forum,
I’ll do you the respect of answering your question.

Yes. Mars is a real planet, it’s not made up, it ACTUALLY exists.

Personlly i leant this when i was about 8 years old in 3rd grade

so…. the deal is…
we live in a solar system
we call our solar system “The Milky Way”
within our solar we have 9 Planets and 1 Sun
the Sun is the Centre of our Solar System
all the 9 Planets revolve around the sun
we call this act of planets revolving around the sun and “orbit”
the planets . from closes to furthest from the sun are as follows

THEREFORE, Mars is the 4th Planet from the sun (it’s also known as the “Red Planet”)
and yes we do know it exists, because, just like neil armstrong was the first astronaut on the Moon, we have had probes that have gone to mars and taken photographs, I’m not 100% sure if we have had a successful man mission to mars, but here’s some reading if you would like to read about it.

In the episode where you drop the chunk of ice out of the air plane to see if it proves the “waste” falling on your house theory, I was wondering how you figured out the formula on the drop site to get it to land close to the target? I’ve been wondering what that formula would be for 9 years now, no ones seems to be able to know how to answer it. Thank you 🙂

What is the brand of the armoured leather jacket you wore as protection while riding in the Ford 4×4 pickup with square tires (when you and Mr. Hineman were trying to determine how fast square tires would need to rotate to smooth the ride of the vehicle)? Thank you for your response.

“What is the brand of the armoured leather jacket you wore as protection while riding in the Ford 4×4 pickup with square tires (when you and Mr. Hineman were trying to determine how fast square tires would need to rotate to smooth the ride of the vehicle)? Thank you for your response.

HI Myth busters, I have a question for you, is it true that if you have oil on the threads of the oxygen regulator will it explode under compression ? I have heard by many people that it could happen. I thought if that happened it would possibly catch fire because of the heat and the oxygen. Please Help!!!!

Can a shock collar restart you heart if you get a strong enough shock. Please help Because me and my friend are having a fight over it like she saying that it cant so im not sure but part of me says it is true so please help Adam and Jamie thx’s.

hey zoey, until adam and jamie respond, i can help you with this, so you stop arguing,
I’m a paramedic of many years.

I”m also a computer and telecommunications Engineer.

so.. here goes.
first of all, when your heart stops (aka you go into cardiac arrest), and then the paramedic arrives puts on the pads and yells “clear” (lol) and shocks the person. (as you see in the movies ).
He’s not actually RESTARTING the guys heart.

this is how it works…..
your heart is a pump,
it’s made of muscle, within that muscle are chambers for the blood to occupy and flow through.
now.. the mechanism by which the blood is forced to flow through the chambers is.. Compression.
now, what causes the chambers to compress are what’s called.. CONDUCTIVE FIBRES within the muscles.
these fibres carry electrical impulses (but not all at the same time).
now the side of the heart that has fibres that are carrying electrical current. causes that side of the heart to contract and push blood into the next chamber.
the blood can’t flow backwards into the previous chambers because of ONE WAY VALVES Called Tricuspid Valvles.
now after all the boring explanation of how the heart works.

you should now be asking, what controls the electrical impulses…. Good Question.

the hearts rythmn is called SINUS RYTHMN because the heart has a little bump on it called a Node. this main node is called the Sinus Node.
this little thing is responsible for the timing of the electrical impulses in the heart.

now it has a backup, just in case it fails to execute an impulse at any time.
the backup node is called the AV node.

now let’s get back to shocking someone….

so.. when something bad happens and both nodes are not firing, or firing at the same time, you get a heart attack, because blood is not flowing…
now, when we shock someone, we are not restarting their heart. WE ARE KILLING IT.

That’s right. the point behind shocking the heart, is to stop what the Sinus and AV nodes are doing, (because they are not effectively pumping blood)

IMPORTANT POINT…. THE SHOCK NEEDS TO PASS THROUGH THE HEART,
it can’t just touch any part of your body.

now when the shock is administered, it stops the heart.

and the idea now is…… the heart’s Sinus Node is supposed to Detect no movement and it’s then supposed to fire off an impulse to get the heart pumping again, while the AV node just let’s the Sinus Node do it’s job.

that’s how the heart works..

now to sort of answer your question.

1. that would need to be a really big collar, because it would need to connect with the Apex and the Sternum in order for the current to pass through the heart

2. Theoretically, if the shock was “strong enough”.. Yes it would be possible. assuming the shock passed through the heart , but seriously what dog shock collar out there could do that.

3. i would need to know what Amps, Volts and Watts that collar is outputting

4. in reality a dog shock collar attached to a person’s neck cannot stop your heart, the shock needs to pass through your. IN SAYING THAT… it cause other damage, depending on the current outputted. don’t try it.

5. to be a bit realistic about this. theoretically if that were true. dogs would be having heart attacks all over the place, don’t you think.
the idea behind a dog collar is to invoke pain compliance, so the dog does what you want, the shock does not need to be lethal in order for the dog to comply.

Your ability to release tears from your tear ducts does not depend on your environment, it’s dependant on your emotional state, so… Yes, You can cry in space, You can even cry underwater, if you really want to be technical about it, However underwater your tears would instantly bond with the water, in space your tears would most likely float away and not drop down, but that a whole seperate issue on HOW DIFFERENING GRAVITATIONAL CONDITIONS
Affect differenct objects, Your releasing your Tears has nothing to with your environment

Dear Mythbusters
while I was at my friends house someone accidently dropped some ketchup in the fire and miraculosly it didn’t disolve or burn. I would like to know if this would happen with all ketchup and if they all are flame retardent. the ketchup was Hein’z. I would be extremly happy if you did try this. I am also a huge fan of your work. I like adam the most.

Dear Mythbusters: Is it possible that tempratures inside an 80’s style Cobrahead streetlight can get so hot during sweltering summer nights that you could fry an egg in it? Here in my town sometimes evening tempratures don’t go below 85. With the streetlights taking over from the sun during a heat wave, they don’t go below 92.
If you’ve done this experiment already, how can I download the segment. If you can fry an egg in a Cobrahead streetlight, it would be a great quiver in my arsenal of arguments about why my city should change all the streetlights to LED. Thank you. Kimberly Sheridan, Charm City Starry Night Project, prolestudio2yahoo.com

I’m Kimberly Sheridan of the Charm City Starry Night Project here in Baltimore. I asked whether a 300 watt Cobrahead streetlight could fry an egg in an urban city on hot summer nights. I have not got an answer because of a finger slip on the keyboard. My e-mail is prolestudio@yahoo.com. I apologize for the mistake. I still want to know if that could happen. Could you even, as a few people around here say, cook a CHICKEN? Egg first, chicken later. Thank you for helping me understand more about physics. Kimberly Sheridan

Hey Mythbusters, first of all Love the show, got every episode.
My name is Martin Kuliza, i’m 38 years old, I’m a computer engineer and i’m a telecommunications engineer, However i’m not an electrician, But i do understand how electricity works and CES earthing system’s work, to state the obvious.
NOTE, I live in Australia, and Common Residential Households use 240 V AC (RMS),10 Amp circuits, for a normal wall socket power point.
now a bit of background (which you probably already know, but i’m just confirming)
putting aside, SELV and ELV
let’s concentrate of LV (Low Voltage) and HV (High voltage) Mains.
as we commonly see in the street on the Power Poles.
the way i was taught was that
LV is defined as being between the range of 46.4 V AC – 1000V AC or 120V DC – 1500V DC
and HV is defined as being above 1000V AC or above 1500V DC

now other things that i learnt that are relevant here are….

1. Electricity will always travel down the shortest path.
2. Electricity will only do so if it is the path of least resistance
3. Hypothetically if electricity had a choice of a path that was longer but offered much lower resistance, i was taught that it would take the path of least resistance.

that being said.

Before i ask the question, let me be clear that i’m not going to try this at home, so don’t worry (hence why i was asking you guys)
i was hoping you could perhaps get buster to do this, rigged with a few sensors or something to that effect.

HERE’S THE MYTH.
We are assuming that the HV Power Cables are un shielded and uninsulated, they are raw exposed copper cabling hanging from pole to pole.

Now.. the myth is.. if a person was to hang from that wire with both hands hanging on (let’s say for arguments say the person fell from a tall building and managed to grab the wires as opposed to falling to his/her death)
Would this person survive or be electrocuted to death.

Most people here would instantly say. HE WOULD DIE.
I’ve even been told by the utility company , Integral energy, (their technicians), that what would happen is…. you would not die instantly, you would need to lose your grip and when you feet hit the ground, the electricity would supposedly, ground itself and you would only then, die.

he also said this is why birds can land on a wire and not die.

Personally i think that’s a load of crap and it does not make any scientific sense.

This is what i believe to be true.

1. It’s the Amps that kill you
2 you only need about 5-6 milliamps (passing through your heart) to kill you
3. Our bodies are (Somewhat) a conductor of electricity
4. if 1000V AC is travelling down a highly conductive copper cable and those electrons passing by the first hand (let’s call it the left hand, for arguments sake), need to make a choice as to whether to travel down into the hand or continue down the cable.
i believe that because the body offers some element of resistance, and some element of conductivity.
but the Conductive properties of the body prove to be a poorer conducter when compared to the copper cable.

Logically, the electricity should continue on the path of least resistance, which also happens to be a straight line, which is also the shortest path. therefore the person would survive.

i have heard several stories on this.
i have also heard electricians tell me that the electricity would go down the left hand past your heart and back up to your right hand (just to see what’s down there).
that same electrician also told me that electricity will always do down the shortest path.

now.. that doesn’t make sense to me,
because
1. to go down the arm is not the shortest path,(hence a direct contradiction to his own statement)
2. why would the electricity even bother to “see what’s down there”
it fundamentally comes down to physics … right. it keeps travelling until it finds a better conductor.

i was also asked by a few people, what if the cable broke.

Well… obviously, in that case the (Assuming the body was suspended between the 2 ends, 1 hand holding 1 side and the other hand holding the other.
the body would complete the broken circuit and would offer resistance, but would be more preferable than no conductivity, Hence the person would die.

i was also told by experts that the power cables could theoretically suspend a 2 tonne vehicle, so a person body would be no problem at all.

the question is…
if a person had to grab on HV 1000V AC or higher to save themselves from hitting ground and dying.

WOULD THEY SURVIVE

i think they would, and i think even if they did, and it was over a body of water, and then they fell into the water (A short distance below) they would still survive.

But at the end of the day.
I THINK THIS WOULD MAKE FOR A GREAT EPISODE, AND YOU GUYS ARE THE GODS OF BUSTING MYTHS.

So… i really really hope you unpack buster for this one , it would really be cool

thanks guys

PS even if you could email me with the answer that would be appreciated.

Dear Adam and Jamie,
I have a question that I’ve wanted to know for a long time. Do monkeys really love banannas or would they prefer something else?
P.S. I love your show and I love watching everything blow-up and I’m only 12!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello,
A little late to ask, but was it ever considered to put the Titanic
passengers on one of the icebergs? Seems like they were
pretty big and a better place to be than the water. There’s cold and then there’s wet cold. I’ll take cold….Heck, they could have taken some deck chairs and had a fire and not made a dent.
Thanks Dave

um me and my dad was just watching your show and it was the episode were you showed that a through away lighter would not explode in a car well me and my dad were sat in his car the other day and the lighter exploded on the car dash and we live in the UK, we had a cheep see through through away lighter the ones from china so will you do a show on that please and get back to me asap

My students and I were discussing microwave radiation and I shared with them the story I’ve heard about WWII radar operators standing in front of the radar to warm up – essentially microwaving themselves. They (the soldiers) first thought something was happening because the chocolate in their pockets would melt when working around the radar and took it the next step with their bodies when they were cold. I would love to know if that is myth or fact and I would like to know how microwaves damage your eyes (It would be so cool to “nuke” some eyeballs)! Thanks for the hours and hours of entertainment.

For the SCIENCE WORLD CONTEST PROTECT THE PLANET 2012, if you didn’t send the form in with your picture… could it still count?. I didn’t know you had to didnt know because it didn’t saw in the magazine. I SENT ONE IN and I put a lot of effort and creativity in it too. CAN IT STILL COUNT? Please let it count. I DID PUT MY NAME ON IT, MY GRADE, MY SCHOOL NAME AND ADDRESS AND that’s it. My teacher know I entered the contest because I sent It from my school..Please let it count!!!!

I would like to know if the beginning scene in the new Batman..”The Dark Knight Rises” is possible. I’m referring to the opening scene where the tail of the small plane is hooked to a larger plane and pulled vertical.

Vases made in the 1950’s were painted with 24k gold. Called ”weeping gold.” Today, the price of these gold covered items are cheap. The reason is? I hear it has hardly no gold, and someone said it’s a bargain because it has 1/4 oz of gold. Anyway for you myth people to find out? 🙂 Thanks.

Hi there Adam and Jamie I’m a big fan and I have a myth for you
The movie bait at the end of it one of the people shot a great white shark with a taser can kill a great white with a taser. Thanx kindly shawn

MYTH: If you’ve had too much to drink and are pulled over by police, sucking on a copper penny will cause a chemical reaction that will fool the breathalyzer, causing it to register negative blood alcohol.

I have a “myth”, or rumor should I say, that I would like proven, whether it be busted or otherwise.
There are usually 3 “speed” settings on a gas pump handle that one can choose from. Rumor has it that if you have the highest speed, or squeezing the handle all the way down, V.S. having the lowest speed selected, that you get more air into your gas tank than gas. In return, you spend more money for less gas. If one selects the lowest speed available at the same gas pump, one should get more “bang for your buck.” Some gas pumps you go to have the notches shaved off or removed, supposedly because they can get more money out of you this way.
I would like to see you guys do this. I have always been a big fan. If this is proven to be true….this simple fact could make a major impact on our nation. Thank you for considering.
Eric Stevens

with the Oval one
is is the side, Hence the weakest point
so.. if it was laying on it’s side
or.. do you mean if it was standing up, hence it’s strongest point (becuase the power of a cylinder is great)
hence how our Leg Bones work
our leg bones, support great mass, but you kick someone in the shin and it breaks easily

with the rectangular one
1. is it standing up
2 is it on it’s side, but the shorter width side
3. is it on it’s side, but the longer width side

or do you not care

because the results would differ

standing up would be the strongest
laying on it’s side with the weight acting upon the shortest width part, would be support more weight than the longer width part

and all that assumes you have not gas in it

in which case, you would need to tell us how much gas

what type of gas
because the pressure of the gas would be a resisting force to the weight

So, can pee really be a good exception for water in a radiator…if you run out of water..? I saw it on the first Red Dawn, when Patrick swayze asked one of the boys to piss in the radiator ….so is it possible?.

Moths to a FLAME………. Can the Very bright Blue Light on a Police car at night actually cause a drive to sway toward the BLUE Light…… Some car have very bright blue light for daytime visability….but at night its like haveing bright high beams shining in your eyes…. I have knowtice that while passing by a Poloce car at night it is hard to see…. By having a dimmer on the emergecy light may save lives of Police officer …. Just like dash light go from bright to dim at night or when headlights on… SmokeSullins@aol.com

In your Indy car special the myth were you see if you loose weight when racing I think everyone should have been weight with just normal clothes rather then your racing suit because if you guys claim you loose your weight from sweat well then it comes out and get your suit wet so when you weight yourself its still there don’t you thing you should have starte in casual clothes got changed raced then removed the suit and put back on exact same clothes you wore when you started and weight yourself again just a idea if in worn please explain so I understand thank you again love the show

I have a farm in Fla elevation approx. 10 ft above sea level and a home in Atlanta elevation approx. 1000 ft above sea level. So technically its approx. 990 ft downhill from home to farm. Yet it takes 1 tank of fuel + to go from home to farm and slightly less than a tank to go from farm to home. Is this because going south you are going toward equator which is highest point on the globe toward the sun, aka uphill, thus offsetting the nearly 1000 ft reverse elevation change? I drive about 75mph interstate on cruise both ways. Ive made the trip dozens of times and its always the same result. There must be a place in California you can recreate this test. Temperature and time of year don’t affect the numbers. You lack our humidity, but it seems if you go south then reverse to north the same route there; you should get the same result. If not then conspiracy theories come into play. Wheres Issac Newton when you need him? Thanks guys Tom Tupps

i like the show southpark and the systems
but this episode was frickin stupid

they came out and said, ACTUALLY PEOPLE OUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM IS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO WORK IN REVERSE
so.. let’s shove something up our ass and a piece of shit will come out our mouth

NOW.. i think you already know the answer to this, but..
You either want jamie or adam to shove something up their ass and see what happens

I’m betting this is is.

or your just curious

now.. to answer you question to the point

when you put a piece of food in your mouth
Your teeth are the first step in the digestive process
they cutt and crush the food, so it’s small enough to go down your throat and not choke you

next.. THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION

it’s not just gravity that makes food go from your thoat to your stomach

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED STANDING ON YOUR HEAD AS A KID AND TRIED EATING A MARS BAR

it works doesn’t it

LET’S ASK WHY THAT’S POSSIBLE

Well……… it’s called peristalisis

Peristalisis is a movement that in your throat.
similar to how a snake moves along the ground

in your throat you have cartilages and they move in a motion that causes food to move towards your stomach

this rythmic motion called peristalisis
IS A ONE WAY MOTION

That’s why you can’t shove food up y our ass and have it come out your mouth,

now i’ll get to the ass end in a second, and you’ll see why.

so, that’s how food gets to your stomach from your mouth.

after your stomach its broken down by digestive juices and acids
then it spills into your gall bladder (unless of course you don’t have one)
and then it goes to your small intestine

in your small intestines and large intestines , for that matter

you have little finger like thingo’s that are calle VILLI
they do a few things
1. they increase the surface area of your intestine and allow for food absorbition
MORE IMPORTANTLY
these little fingers (as we call them in high school biology) carry the food in one direction.

they actually direction the food to move from the small intestine,
to you large intestine’s

the large intestines use their VIlli to move the waste product
(hence, the food – everything nutritional that the body has absorbed)
it moves the waste to your anus
and excretes the waste

or simply put
You take a shit

theoretically if you tried sticking let’s say an apple wedge or a grape up your ass

and let’s assume for arguments sake
You had nothing digesting in your body

the grape or apple, would come back out your ass
maybe not straight away

and due to pelvic floor muscles, Your able to HOLD IT, so to speak

but you can only HOLD IT for so long
after that, Peristalisis kicks in, and you have to shit it out

and. NO, it would not come out as shit
it would come out as a crushed grape

it would come out undigested, because it didn’t get broken down by digestive juices

you shove it in the wrong end, and the body , because of the peristalisis motion will send it out the correct way

the body is not stupid

hope that answers question to a satisfactory scientific and biological level

be cool

PS, no jamie or adam dont need stick anything up their ass so you can get your answer HUH
LOL

Hey Adam and Jamie
This most likely wont end up airing on your show, as i believe it wont be a popular topic

I’m a computer engineer and Telecommunications Engineer
with relation to installation of Digital TV Antenna’s and Satellite dishes in australia.
i would like to ask this question

Now.. in Telecommunications Engineering, we are taught that When using a Signal meter with Spectrum Analysis capability.
let me be specific here.
let’s say it’s a DVB-T Meter and the Modulation in Australia is COFDM
so.. we are taught that a Digital Signal will have Amplitude (of course)
and then you have the several factors that contribute to Quality
such as
Pre Viterbi (BER)
Signal to Noise Ration
MER

and let’s just leave it at that for a second
let’s not get into
RU
EVM and the rest of it

now, here’s my question

we are taught that if we insert a Signal Amplifier into the Network,
then that amplfiers purpose is to raise the Amplitude of the existing signal
and it does so, by sourcing the power from it’s Power Injector
Usually 15V AC , that run up the coaxial 75Ohm RG6 Cable
to the PCB Based Amplifier
and hence the signal is amplified

NOW,
Amplification is not supposed to improve quality

Because there is no component in the amplfier that performs error Correction

I am wondering if water becomes harder as the temperature drops and before it freezes? Example if I jump off a diving board into 33 degree water will the surface hurt more than if i do the same into 70 degree water.

Love your show AND would you please tell me where I can get blue pads of paper as used on your show to illustrate experements. Very efective especialy with white brushpen and classy to boot. Have been searching for years. Moblato obligato. Christoph

question is there a way to turn a propane tank into a booster rocket?
the ideal is to put a modified seat on a tank with some weight and see how far it can shoot upward without fire or an explosion. this is for a research purpose only, not trying it at home.just need to know if it is plausible or not .

Dear myth busters:I live in fredonia Arizona, and I need some help with a science project. It has to do with heat and preasure explosions, and witch one happens sooner than the other, and witch one has more shrapnel. My hypothesis is: the preasure explosion wil go off sooner than the other and will make more shrapnel. PS; it has to be in two different metal containers.

Hello James there are parts of your question that are vague
but, i hope this helps

Heat vs Pressure and which one happes first…
it’s like this
Pressure occurs first
Heat is directly proportional to Pressure

Once Pressure Builds up (let’s say in some container) and it occupies the whole container and can’t escape

if the source of the pressure continues to apply pressure into the container
the pressure will build up

the pressure pushing against that walls of the container will produce heat

the more pressure = The More heat

so you can’t have one without the other

if you want to compare a Heat Explosion
and
a Pressure Explosion
YOU CAN’T

because, the word EXPLOSION by definition
Means something that is contained under pressure and that pressure can no longer be contained by the container Hence
you get an explosion

a result of the explosion is Heat, then after that Fire
that’s a good example as well
Heat has to exist before fire

so. your Hypothesis is sort of correct
Let’s analyze is in terms of “what will go off sooner”
Pressure build up will go off sooner
now. consider this, there is no way for a Heat explosion to go off except unless it builds up pressure as a result of the heat

Hence why when it does “Go Off”
you can see it explode in a 360 degree circle

this is the pressure Levelling out and reducing itself to it’s surroundings

it will continue to expand until it reaches the pressure level of it’s surroundings

as for which will produce more shrapnel
there’s no way for us to know

we have to know how much pressure there is
we have to know exactly what material is being used (metal, is too vague, we need to know specfic type of metal)

Generally speaking, to give you an idea
Harder Metals will produce More Shrapnel flying off than softer metals

However, if the explosion is only strong enough to explode the soft metal container but not the hard one, then the Soft metal will produce more shrapnel because the other produced zero shrapnel

thank you for the answer, but what I meant to say was they are both in the same container but only one container has them both, and the other has only pressure, and how about this for a myth one of my friends in school said that that their was a roomer going around about a glass ball coming into some persons hot water heater and on contact with the heated water inside, it shot out the top of the tank and into a television on their first floor and it eploded.

Hi James
i know what you meant, and just to clarify something
if we have the following
CONTAINER 1 : Contain Heat + Pressure
CONTAINER 2 : Contains Pressure Only

you can’t have that, because as i stated above, if there is Pressure there is Heat, that’s why in science when we are talking about something we always say,
“Given Standard Temperature and Pressure”

we say this because we know that when Heat/Temperature is in question, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PRESSURE.

Hence it’s impossible to have 1 Container with Pressure only, if your science teachers tells you otherwise, He /She is either
1. An absolute idiot
or
2. Considers the heat to be so minor that it’s factored out of the equation (Technically it’s still there) but he’s not worrying about it,
in which case, we then need to add something else to this equation, and that is, What accuracy level are we focussing on.

as for your next comment
FIRST OF ALL, It’s spelt as RUMOUR not Roomer

as for the Rumour (it sounds like bullshit to be honest) Let me give you supporting facts

1. it started as a rumour not as a lecture or factual event that a lot of people witnessed

2. the fact that someone would say “Glass Ball” as opposed to “Rock” suggests the story was fabricated, How does a Pefectly shaped Glass Ball, that happens to Perfectly fit the size of the Outlet Pipe happen to just enter the Inlet pipe of a Water Cooler, Amazing Co-incidence, don’t you think

but.. Let’ humour it, Let’s say it actually happened

3. You said that UPON THE GLASS BALL COMING INTO CONTACT WITH WATER it shot out of the top of the tank

sort of to suggest that the pressure that was built up caused the ball to shoot out like a bullet so to speak and go UPWARDS and through a layer of concrete and then still have enough intertia to penetrate a TV

this doesn’t make sense, because…
first of all, DO THIS EXPERIMENT IF YOU LIKE

Get a Pot, fill it up with water,
put it on the stove,
Boil the water big time
put a glass into the water and see what happens

FACT, Glass Doesnt react with water
FACT Glasses are used to Store water for that specific reason

so glass doesn’t react with water,
but, this is HOT water, BOILING WATER

so. Temperature is the question here

What will most likely happen to a glass or glass ball when dropped in boiling water is, IT WILL CRACK

Because, The Heat Causes Expansion of the Covalent bonds in the Structure of the glass, and if the Glass is not Maleable (Bendable) which it’s not, it will crack

also, Given the Weight of the Glass ball in the boiler, it would probably just sink to the bottom of the boiler after exiting the Inlet Pipe

another thing

THE INLET PIPE is at the bottom of the boiler (on the side of it)

THE OUTLET PIPE is at the top (on the side of it)
so, first question is.. HOw did the heavy ball get from being on the bottom due to gravity and weight, to being at the top, IT CAN’T

and even if it did, how did it shoot upwards instead of outwards

Let’s assume (and this is really a far stretch) that the Outlet was on the top of the boiler pointing upwards,

the outlet has to be connected to your plumbing, like a shower or something,

so, Even if somehow the glass ball got to the top
and someohow it managed to cause a blockage in the pipe
and somehow it managed to build up enough pressure to push it down the pipe

How the hell did it go straight up, as opposed to going down the pipe to the shower

Your talking about assuming that
the ball
– Burst through the copper pipe
– then Had enough Inertia to go completely through a Level of concrete
– Then still had enough inertia to enter a TV set

that’s not possible
because pressure in a boiler doesn’t instantly rise like that

it builds up slowly over time
and if that was to happen

THERE IS A PRESSURE RELEIF VALVE

What your talking about cannot happen

and finally
YOU SAID IT EXPLODED as if to suggest it burst into flames
the glass could not have combusted into flames

it’s more likely (if this bullshit actually happened at all) that…
the Glass ball Penetrated the TV (Assuming it was a CRT TV) and it could have caused the TV’s Cathode Ray Tube to Explode

next
What’s harder a Glass Ball or A Concrete Slab
Answer = Concrete Slab
even if it made it out of the Copper Pipe, the Concrete Floor, or even wooden floor would have shattered that Glass travelling at that speed into pieces

if that happened, the force that was applied by the Glass Ball on the Concrete, was THEN OVERCOME by the concrete and the Ball shatters due to the kinetic energy suffered from the concrete

Which PROVES IT COULDNT HAVE THE FORCE NECESSARY TO PENETRATE THE CONCRETE

if it did penetrate the concrete, that means that the Ball Exerted enough Kinetic energy to Overcome the Molecular bonds of the concrete

Seriously, this is so Hypothetical right now that it’s stupid
becauuse we now get into a discussion of Density

Density of Concrete vs Density of Glass
the short story is, THE CONCRETE WINS

so, it couldn’t make it to the next level
even if you fired a 9 calibre round through that concrete it still wouldn’t make it through

Now let’s say that by some fantastic act of god, it actually made it through the concrete without being shattered to pieces

(putting aside that this negates almost every law of physics) but.. ok, let’s roll with it

the glass ball would not have enough inertia to get through the TV
because each time it passes through an object that offers resistance to it’s momentum

it’s momentum MUST SLOW DOWN , hence Decrese in speed

so, it went through
– A copper Pipe
– A Slab of Concrete
these are your resistance factors

now compare that to the Exit speed of the Ball coming out of the pipe as a result of Pressure from the water vapour

Exactly how much pressure was exerted on the ball

because, honestly, if you had enough pressure exerted on that GLASS BALL to overcome this resistance

the ball wouldn’t go flying

the ball would instaltly shatter from the pressure and their would just be pieces of glass inside the water heater.

MYTH BUSTED
Definitely
this sounds like a story that some kid made up and other kids believed,

it can’t happen like that mate
Water Heater companies would get the arse sued off them if it could happen,

My Microwave is High Power (not sure of the wattage)
it can usually cook a microwave meal in 30 seconds
it can defrost around 500grams of Mince meat in around 2 minutes

so, in my Microwave oven
(Worst case scenario is … the paper catches on fire…. so what,
have your finger on the STOP button and have some water handy,)
TEST 1 – A4 Sheet of paper in microwave on HIGH for 30 Seconds
RESULT – paper got very very mildly warm, nothing major

TEST 2 – A4 Sheet of paper , allowed to cool down to room temperature, then heated on HIGH for 1 Minute
RESULT – No Combustion. Paper got extremely warm to mildly hot.
there was 1 brown spot the size of an Australian 10 cent
piece

Now, i don’t really want to clean my oven out from having ash in it.
but my guess would be this…

To burn 1 A4 Sheet of paper it would take approx , i would guess 3 minutes, maybe 4 minutes
i can’t see it taken longer than 5mins

let’s give it best case scenario of 2 mins.
Now that’s 1 SHEET OF PAPER LOL

when you put 2 A4 Sheets together in a book it really adds up.
let’s say this book has 10 Pages and is standard A4 size and thickness
i’m guessing you could put in the microwave for about an hour and all you would get is a really hot book. LOL

Let alone if this was a stephen king paperback novel like Nightmares and Dreamscapes for example.

i say try it, if you don’t mind cleaning your microwave up afterwards and having a burnt smell in their for a while
but monitor it

nothing going to explode
it’s just 1 piece of paper, or 1 Book Catching alight and combusting

chances are,
you could have a water soaked rag, standing by
so that when you open the microwave with the paper or book on fire, you just toss the rag over the book and the fires out.

EASY PEASY, JAPANESEY
Going off your name, Why don’t you just live up to the name of pyro and try lighting stuff up, LOL
be cool mate

Can jet fuel melt steel beams? I’m guessing no, because you would need a furnace-like construction to trap the heat in enough to get the temperature hot enough to melt that type of metal. but what do i know? I’m just going on my minimal knowledge of the subject.

Afterthought: could the world trade center have acted like a furnace and trap heat in? I don’t think so, due to it not being designed to have heat-trapping properties, but it would be something for someone who knows more to think about.